NAME : CHU YEN ROI
NDP: 12224211
Activity 2:
Use of the TCP/IP Protocols and the OSI Model in Packet
Tracer
Learning Objectives
Explore how PT uses the OSI Model and TCP/IP Protocols
Examine Packet Processing and Contents
Introduction:
In Packet Tracer simulation mode, detailed information about packets and how they are
processed by networking devices may be viewed. Common TCP/IP Protocols are modeled
in Packet Tracer, including DNS, HTTP, TFTP, DHCP, Telnet, TCP, UDP, ICMP, and IP. How
these protocols are used by networking devices in creating and processing packets is
displayed, in Packet Tracer, using a representation of the OSI Model. The term protocol
data unit, or PDU, is a generic description of what are known as segments at the
transport layer, packets at the network layer, and frames at the data link layer.
Task 1: Explore the PT interface
Step 1. Examine the Help Files and Tutorials
From the pull down menu, choose Help->Contents. A web page will open. From the left
frame, choose Operating Modes->Simulation Mode. If not already familiar, read
about simulation mode.
Step 2. Switching from Realtime to Simulation Mode
In the far lower right of the PT interface is the toggle between Realtime and Simulation
mode. PT always starts in realtime mode, in which networking protocols operate with
realistic timings. However, a powerful feature of Packet Tracer allows the user to "stop
time" by switching to simulation mode. In simulation mode, packets are displayed as
animated envelopes, time is event driven, and the user can step through networking
events. Click on Simulation mode.
(2 Marks)
Task 2: Examine Packet Contents and Processing
Step 1. Creating a Packet and Accessing the PDU Information
Window
Click on the Web Client PC. Choose the Desktop tab. Open the Web Browser. Enter the
IP address of the Web Server into the browser, [Link]. Clicking on Go will initiate
a web server request. Minimize the Web Client configuration window. Since time in
simulation is event driven, you must use the Capture/Forward button to display
network events. Two packets appear in the event list, one of which has an eye next to it.
An eye next to a packet means it is displayed as an envelope on the logical topology.
Find the first packet in the Event List, and click on the colored square in the Info
column.
(2 Marks)
Step 2. Investigating device algorithms in the OSI Model view
When you click on the Info square for a packet in the event list or equivalently, you click
on a packet envelope displayed on the logical topology, the PDU Information window
opens. The OSI model organizes this window. In the case of the first packet we are
viewing, notice the HTTP request (at Layer 7) is then encapsulated, successively, at
Layers 4, 3, 2, and 1. If you click on these layers, the algorithm used by the device (in
this case, the PC) is displayed. View what is going on at each layer--this will be the
subject of much of the rest of the course.
(2 Marks)
Step 3. Inbound and Outbound PDUs
When opening the PDU Information window, the default is the OSI Model view. Now click
on the Outbound PDU Details tab. Scroll down to the bottom of this window. There you
will see that HTTP (the web page request that started this series of events) is
encapsulated as data in a TCP segment, which in turn is encapsulated in an IP packet,
which in turn is encapsulated in an Ethernet frame, which in turn is transmitted as bits on
the medium. If a device is the first device involved in a series of events, packets at that
device will only have an Outbound PDU Details tab; if a device is the last device in a
series of events, packets at that device it has only an Inbound PDU Details tab. In
general, you will see both Outbound and Inbound PDU details, which give details about
how Packet Tracer is modeling that device.
(2 Marks)
Step 4. Packet tracing: animations of packet flow
The first time through a packet animation, you are actually capturing the packets, as in a
protocol sniffer. Hence, the Capture/Forward button means "Capture" one set of events
at a time. Step through the web page request. Note that you are only displaying HTTP-
related packets; but other protocols like TCP and ARP also have packets that are not
being displayed. At any time in your packet capture, you can open the PDU Information
window. Run through the entire animation until the "No More Events" message is
reached. Experiment with this packet tracing process -- running the animation again,
examining packets, predicting what will happen next, and investigating your predictions.
(2 Marks)
(TOTAL 10 Marks)